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Plague Rats
Episode 7, season 6 of War. Enjoy! (if this seems hurried, I'm probably rushing to the Adderscar episode (*cough*ADDERFALLERS*cough*)) <3 Plague Rats Do you know what it feels like, to be away from your home for almost a moon? It's ridiculous. You don't get good sleep and the prey tastes all stringy and everything just feels inexplicably wrong. It took us a day to get to the FireClan border. As soon as we were back over it, we were more energized than ever, chattering and talking about what we were going to do as soon as we got back to Main. "I'm going to eat four rabbits," Stormflight boasts. "All by myself." "You tried to do that once," I point out. "You had gas and couldn't move for two days." "And you only made it to two," Grayleaf adds. "Two and a half if you count the part he ate, then threw up," Oakclaw says. Stormflight glares at us and mutters something, making Snowflight purr. Then he perks up, "We're home!" And so we are. I can see the entrance to Main in front of us, but something's wrong. There are always a few guards on watch, but today there are a couple more than usual. They look on edge too, and as soon as they see us, they rush to meet us. "Name and rank," a brisk she-cat asks Gorsefur. At least some things don't change. "Gorsefur, Commander," he looks over her shoulder. "What's going on?" "Let's get inside, then we'll talk." The she-cat turns and pads towards Main. We all look a each other. "I vote we run," Stormflight opts. "I think if we go in there, everyone's going to be possessed or something." "This is real life, Stormflight," Snowflight snorts. "Besides," Oakclaw meows. "Adderscar's in there." "Yeah, we never leave a cat behind," I'm rather proud of myself for that, but Gorsefur coughs something out that sounds suspiciously like 'Badgerstrike'. I glare at him and he straightens, walking after the she-cat. After a moment, we all follow our commander. The camp is eerie. No one is in the Market and it's practically silent. I have never seen it like this, and that is enough to set me on edge. Gorsefur turns to the she-cat who walked us in, hanging by the exit. "What happened?" "Quarantine," she says simply. "Some bad prey infected a few cats and now half the camp's got it. I suggest you get to your dens- the medicine cats are busy trying to figure out a cure, but so far, there hasn't been much luck." "How bad is it?" Shadowsong asks. She looks freaked out and I don't blame her- her little sister was killed by a plague. The she-cat looks grim. "Well, as long as there's not a cure..." she looked at them. "You'll want to get to your den soon. Someone will come by to explain the hunting patrol rotation and the safety rules. Until then, no one is to leave the camp." She turns, then looks back, "Are any of you medicine cats?" Grayleaf steps forward and she nods. "I'll escort you to the medicine den." She nudges him forward and Grayleaf looks back at us. "Don't talk to other cats," he calls. Always a medicine cat. We hurry to our own den. No one's walking around, save for a small patrol of cats. Oakclaw meows a greeting, but they just glare at us, making sure we keep walking. "This is too creepy," Shadowsong mutters. We finally arrive at our den. Because this section of dens belongs to squads who are usually out on missions, a lot of the area around us is empty. Which is good, less germs. I feel paranoid already. "Home sweet-" Oakclaw is cut off by a yelp. We all look up to see Stormflight, a paw-step away from the den. Except he's all...slanted. After a moment, I realize his front leg has vanished into the ground. He wrenches it out and Snowflight examines it, "Nothing's broken," she mutters. "Who would dig a hole right in front of the freaking den?!" Stormflight complains. "I just want to sleep and now my paw hurts!" "Well," a familiar voice drawls. "That's a real shame." Oakclaw purrs in relief and I purr despite myself when we see Adderscar's green eyes narrowed at us in exasperation. "Once the plague started up, they said I was clear to move back here. They had more pressing issues and apparently they didn't appreciate my help." "Wow, can't imagine that," Oakclaw mutters. "But why the hole in the ground?" Stormflight asks, still looking angry. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's a plague on and I can't really defend myself," Adderscar meows. "How's your leg?" Snowflight asks. I can't quite decide if she's tactful or tactless for addressing the issue we've all been dying to hear about. Adderscar's eye flicks to his front leg. The scar from the adder bite he received as a kit is hardly the most disturbing thing about his leg now- it's healed up some, but it still seems...wrong. Crooked, broken, off... "Fine," he says. "I can walk...sort of. I can limp. I'll be ready for our next mission," he says the last part to Gorsefur who just makes a weird noise and continues to look at Adderscar with wide, uncertain eyes. "How come you guys came back?" Adderscar asks. "I mean, I appreciate it and all...well, no I don't. It was really stupid and that annoys me..." "Why was it stupid?" I ask. "I mean, I know there's the plague..." Adderscar looks at me like I'm an idiot and I glare back. "Pretty much everyone's sick," he says finally. "Depending on their age, health, body type...a bunch of other factors, they all die. Or they just kind of wither away in sickness." "They told us only half the camp was sick when we got here!" Stormflight yelps. "And you believed them," Adderscar mutters, closing his eyes. "Wait, how come you're not sick then?" Shadowsong asks. She looks triumphant, like she's just caught Adderscar in a massive lie and really everyone's totally fine, haha. Suspiciously, I look at Adderscar. No, that would be extreme. Even for him. "I don't know," Adderscar tries to sound flippant, but I can hear the underlying annoyance. Adderscar hates not knowing. "Maybe I just spent so long in the medicine den I'm just immune to everything now." "Are you immune to a smack in the face?" Oakclaw mutters, obviously irritated by Adderscar's general I-know-everything attitude. "We need to get out of here," I say. "If we stay here-" "Grayleaf's in the medicine den," Gorsefur points out. "Besides, we walked through the camp, we could have gotten sick just from that. Probably. Maybe." "This bites," Shadowsong growls, sitting in her nest. "I think Brookfall should leave," Snowflight suddenly says. We all look over at her- well, everyone else looks, I glare. "Look," she says soothingly. "I'm not saying you're weaker because you're with kits. But if you even get sick, your body might not be able to handle having kits. It might reject them too early. And what if this lasts for longer than we think it will? What if you start kitting and this is still going on? Your kits won't have any means of fighting off an illness. You'd be condemning them because you were too stubborn to admit you were different than us." I stare at her. I'm pretty sure that's the most I've ever hear her say, and it had to do with me. I'm not sure whether I should be elated or offended. "So, we need an escape plan," Shadowsong summarizes. "Seems like something our brain should be able to accomplish." We all look at Adderscar. "You all are incompetent," he says, rolling his eyes. "You know you love it," Oakclaw teases. Adderscar snorts, but he doesn't argue. Adderscar was taking a walk. Something so simple had never been so important to him before now. The others had been nervous when he said he wanted to go out. But the way Adderscar figured, if he hadn't gotten sick by now, he probably wasn't going to. Brookfall had offered to walk with him, make sure he was okay, but he'd refused. He liked being alone. Especially if something in his leg wasn't cooperating- he didn't want his companions to see him fall. He heard pawsteps behind him, "I told you I didn't want help," he growled through gritted teeth. "Just had a question for you," It was Gorsefur. Figured. The perfect tom who managed to both set him on edge and inspired a desperate yearn to be appreciated. Maybe it was because Badgerstrike had practically mentored them both. Maybe it was because he left them both too. Well, he didn't exactly betray Gorsefur like he did me. "What?" Adderscar snapped. Gorsefur winced a little, but he pressed on, walking at the snail's pace Adderscar was keeping. Adderscar hoped fervently he didn't notice how his leg was trembling. "What are the symptoms? Of the plague?" Adderscar stopped. This was...interesting. "You start off feeling dizzy, tired," he said, slowly. "You can't keep anything down, so you start getting weak. It gets harder to swallow, your throat hurts and it feels like it's swelling up. It gets harder to breathe. And then..." he trailed off, not missing the look of dread on Gorsefur's face. "Why?" "I thought it was just because we'd been walking for so long," Gorsefur whispered, half to himself, half to Adderscar. "I figured I just needed to eat. But since we got into camp..." Adderscar looked at the sky. It was moon-high- they had arrived at sun-high. More than enough time to begin displaying symptoms. In all likelihood, Gorsefur was sick. "Brookfall wants you to come with her." Gorsefur nodded, slumping a little. Brookfall's argument had been interesting, at least- that the psychological trauma of not having a father present during the first few days of a kit's life was as dangerous as a plague. Not necessarily factual. But interesting. "I can't go back in there," Gorsefur whispered. He closed his eyes, swaying slightly. "She can't get sick...the kits..." he opened his eyes and Adderscar was frightened to see his eyes were hazy, fevered. "You have to get her out now. We can't wait any longer." "I-" "Please." Gorsefur looked so desperate, so...sick, Adderscar simply nodded. Gorsefur was still swaying and Adderscar nudged him towards one of the adjacent, empty dens. Don't faint, he begged in his mind. I can't carry you and you'll ruin the whole plan if Brookfall finds you passed out. But, surprisingly, Gorsefur made it to a nest before he collapsed. He tried to say something else, but Adderscar just hushed him and padded over to the other den. Brookfall and the others were laughing about something. As he padded in, they all looked up. He was caught by Brookfall's light green eyes, some of her laughter still lingering in them. "Gorsefur's gone to the dirtplace," he lied. He looked directly at Brookfall. "But we need to go now." Something's wrong, I know it. But everyone ushers me out so fast I can't think, much less stop to try to get to Gorsefur. All too soon we get to the wall. Here, it dips low, a strategically weak spot in the camp, but perfect for our purposes tonight. Adderscar stands watch- he wouldn't be much use in this exercise anyways. Stormflight stands by, ready to be a distraction if a guard should walk by. Oakclaw, Shadowsong, and Snowflight watch me with wide eyes. There is no way this can work. "We could all go..." I say, hopeful for a moment. Adderscar's shaking his head, but it's Oakclaw who speaks. "We could be infected," he says gently. "We have to stay here...if we're not infected, maybe we can help. We'll be okay." I look at him, trying to find a hint of dishonesty in his amber eyes. In the end, I trust him. I always do. "Remember," Adderscar says. "Your safe spot is the abandoned fox den. Follow the river until you get to the third clearing on the right, then the next clearing over is where it is. It's close to the river and the prey around there is usually dependable. Plus, it's far enough away from here." I nod, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. Praying that this'll be something we all laugh about later- 'Remember that time we helped Brookfall break out of Main because she was pregnant? That was great!' Without another word, Snowflight, the smallest, crouches on the ground. "Try not to claw my shoulders," she mutters. Purring weakly, I awkwardly climb on her back. She stands and I focus on balancing. Fortunately cats were made for this kind of thing. Well, maybe more along the lines of climbing trees and lounging on branches. Most cats probably don't climb on their friends. Shadowsong crouches next, and Snowflight hesitantly steps on her back. I wobble a little, but I manage to stay on. Oakclaw's the last one up. Shadowsong clambers onto him and then he stands. I almost fall, but Snowflight shifts at the last moment. "I can't believe," Oakclaw mutters through gritted teeth, "This was the best plan that WaterClan's smartest cat could come up with." "It's working, isn't it?" Adderscar snaps back. "Not for long," Oakclaw groans. "Any time would be great, Brookfall!" We're wobbling near the wall. I can jump, I can make it. I wait, timing the leap. Finally, I pounce, landing on it. I hear low cheering below me and I peek back down. "Good luck!" Snowflight calls. "Don't get eaten!" Oakclaw reminds me. I wave my tail at them and disappear into the forest. "That went off surprisingly well," Shadowsong observed. "Says you!" Oakclaw complained. "I thought she-cats were supposed to be skinny!" Shadowsong rammed into him and he almost flew into some poor cat's nest. Adderscar's whiskers twitched as their den came into sight. It triggered Adderscar's memory and he said, "Hey, someone needs to go get Gorsefur." "What?" Oakclaw looked panicked. "He's sick." "I thought you said he went to the dirtplace," Snowflight tipped her head. "Well I lied," Adderscar yowled. "Someone just go get him, okay?" "I'll go..." Shadowsong sighed. "Since Oakclaw's all messed up." Oakclaw glared at her and she smirked, padding off to the den Adderscar indicated with his tail. Adderscar really hated his leg sometimes. It was difficult to stomp into a den properly if your leg had been broken. The others trailed in after him like scolded kits. "What did we eat for lunch?" Stormflight suddenly asked. Everyone looked at him for a moment. He rolled his eyes, "I just don't feel so good and I figured it was something I ate." "We're under a quarantine and you assume it was something you ate," Adderscar said scathingly. "StarClan..." Snowflight said. "Lie down, lie down!" Stormflight obliged, looking increasingly bad by the minute. Or was that just Adderscar's imagination, making him paranoid? Shadowsong returned with Gorsefur. She helped him to his nest and then returned to where the others were seated. "What's wrong with Stormflight?" Adderscar looked at the three others. Shadowsong. Oakclaw. Snowflight. Which of them was going to get sick next? I don't run away from the camp- no one's really chasing me- but I do move quickly away. I don't want to get sick, obviously. I just didn't want to leave. I get to the river and then start looking to the right. I'll have to cross the river to get over there, and I look down. It's deep...but I know there's a shallow stretch up ahead. I continue to walk on the left side. One clearing passes... I hope Gorsefur's okay. There's the next... We didn't get to say goodbye. The water's clear here as well as shallow. I cross, not noticing the pleasant chill as I continue thinking. What if I have the kits and he's still back at Main? That would be too weird. Dirt, walked past the third clearing. I double back and look at it. It's small, but pretty. It kind of reminds me of Summerstorm- secluded, but still gorgeous, still perfect in its own way. I pad across it, the chirp of birds and skitter of mice a comforting change from the disturbing silence of Main. Shouldering through the bushes at the edge of the clearing, I disturb a squirrel and send it chittering up the branches of a nearby oak. Adderscar was right, there's plenty of prey here. It's nice. Maybe when I have my kits I'll bring them here to play. I let myself imagine that for a moment- a few fluffy balls of cuteness tumbling around while Gorsefur and I lay in the sun. Maybe the others will be there too. Well, some of them. Maybe Grayleaf and Snowflight- they seem trustworthy around kits. Shadowsong and Oakclaw would probably just corrupt them and Adderscar would tell them StarClan wasn't real. I purr to myself, walking around the second, slightly smaller clearing, searching for the abandoned den. It's not too difficult to find- a huge boulder has cracked in a way that allows a small cave to be seen on the edge of the clearing. I approach it cautiously, half convinced that a fox is going to leap out. The scent of fox is completely gone though and I pad inside. It's nice- dry and warm. No moss though- I'll have to get some of that. Maybe catch some prey while I'm still feeling up to it. I turn in a slow circle. I can do this. I can be alone. I just wish I didn't have to be. Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics